I am one of the “zealous nuts.” I live in Columbus, Ohio and I think about Placemaking and Streets as Places all the time. You can easily catch me out in the neighborhood observing street-life behavior, or taking photos of things like benches (without backs) placed randomly on isolated and ridiculously over-sized slabs of concrete void of life and asking the question, "...Why?"Read More »

According to the pundits and prophets who dominate the media, the future of transportation is all figured out for us. Cheaper gas prices mean we can still count on our private cars to take us everywhere we want to go in the years to come. But this everything-stays-the-same vision ignores some significant social developments. Americans have actually been driving less per capita for the past decade, bucking a century-long trend of ever-increasing dependence on automobiles.Read More »

We were fortunate to chat with Julie Mallis, Active Health Program Coordinator at MGR Youth Empowerment, and Program Director of the Positive Spin program. Julie, much like Positive Spin, is an inspiring individual. Trained as an artist, with an interest for art programming, cycling, and connecting youth with the environment, Julie has worked with MGR for the past 5 years.Read More »

Mark Plotz is the director of the National Center for Bicycling and Walking, a resident program of the Project for Public Spaces. What that means, in practice, is that Mark is the man who makes Pro Walk/Pro Bike: Pro Place happen! Mark’s been poring over the results of last September’s conference in Long Beach, CA, [...]Read More »

Tomorrow, a group of bicyclists in Vancouver BC will meet at David Lam Park in Yaletown and ride for an hour and a half through the city, ending at Vanier Park. As the press release for the event states, “Members of the general public will likely not notice the Critical Manners cyclists as they will [...]Read More »